French President Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday he had approved the creation of a space command within the French air force to improve the country's defence capabilities.

The declaration -- made on the eve of France's Bastille Day national celebrations that feature a military parade down Paris's Champs-Elysees -- mirrors an initiative in the US championed by President Donald Trump.

"To assure the development and the reinforcement of our capacities in space, a high command for space will be created in September," Macron told military brass gathered for a traditional pre-Bastille Day reception.

He called the renewed military focus on space a "true national security issue".